1.1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for exercising the fingers and hands and, more particularly, to a compact glove device which provides resistance during both grasping and extending motions. For example, the present invention can be used to promote hand and finger strength and finger coordination, as well as forearm strength.
1.2. Description of the Prior Art
The human musco-skeletal arrangement with its connective tissues and tendons on many occasions is benefited by a regular program of exercise. For example, broken bones usually require that the affected site be immobilized until the fracture has united, after which muscle atrophy and joint stiffness will be found. Physiotherapy is of great help in the mobilization of the stiffened limb, but active movements and active muscle contractions by the patient are usually the ultimate key to success.
In addition, the connective tissue between the muscle and bones are subject to numerous types of diseases that may ultimately destroy the usefulness and movement of the appendages, and in particular the appendages of the fingers and hands. Such diseases are typically identified as an arthritis, and are used to describe the conditions arising from involvement of the joints and their immediate surrounding structures by disease. The most usual symptoms of these diseases are the stiffness and aching that accompany the movement of any affected joint. Other diseases, such as repetitive stress disorders and "tennis elbow" are also common. In some cases, rest for the individually involved joint is necessary, and in some cases, it is best for the joint to be kept as straight as possible, not flexed or bent. To such ends resting splints have been devised particularly for the fingers, hands, and wrists to be worn at night. Rest of the affected joint does not mean immobilization, however. In order to prevent loss of muscle power and to avoid crippling joint deformity, rest must be accomplished by an active, prescribed exercise program. Such programs once demonstrated to the patient may then be carried on in a home environment. For a patient with a degenerative arthritis condition, physiotherapy, local heat, massages, and supervised exercise enable a patient to carry on for many months in moderate comfort.
Where prescribed by a medical therapist, the application of heat is one of the most effective measures for temporary relief of aches and pains of affected muscle and connective joints and also aids muscles to relax, making exercises more effective. Heat therapy is of several types-dry heat, wet heat, and use of counter irritants (as recommended). Dry heat may be applied by filament lamps, bakers, hot water bottles, electric pads or paraffin baths. Wet heat is applied by hot water, hot fomentations, and contrast baths. Counter irritants usually consist of various liniments and ointments containing irritant substances which, when applied to the skin, cause a reflex dilation of blood vessels, producing a local feeling of warmth.
As to exercise, various devices are known for exercising the hand during a grasping motion. Generally, these devices are intended to increase grip strength. They are used by tennis players, climbers or other athletes, as well as individuals suffering from repetitive stress disorders, arthritis and the like.
One familiar grip strength training device employs a spring coil to provide resistance as a user grasps and closes two handles together. Other similar devices forces a user to squeeze an elastic spongy article (made from neoprene or the like) in a similar grasping motion.
Hand training devices and methods also find use in sports medicine and physical rehabilitation. Injuries or disabilities such as tennis elbow or weakness secondary to age often require finger training exercises such as flexion and/or extension.
While these, as well as other similar training devices, provide adequate training of the grasping motion, both provide no training whatsoever for the opening or extending motion. Moreover, these familiar devices are easily lost during an exercise class or training session since they are not affixed to the hand or body, and are not convenient for use during other activities where the use of a glove would be inconspicuous or otherwise convenient.
Another disadvantage of conventional "grip training" devices is that, with such devices, the training stroke (i.e., the grasping motion) begins with the fingers in an extended, rather than relaxed, position. In all applications, it is preferable that the training stroke begin from a relaxed or neutral position (i.e., a position in which the wrist is cocked up 30.degree. and the fingers and thumb are positioned in their relaxed, equilibrium positions, approximately one third closed). With conventional devices, the user must squeeze the apparatus to reach the relaxed position. Thus, the training stroke does not begin from the relaxed position.
Other prior art devices especially used for the exercise of the hands are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,827 granted to Williams and Great Britain patent 206,592 dated 12-86 to Gree. The patents generally disclose the prior art devices that are ball-like in nature and usually made from a rubber material or other mechanical arrangement that is compressible in one direction as they are gripped by the hand. Gree specifically points out that "there is generally no provision for accommodating with a single hand exerciser all of the movements associated with the parts of the anatomy in question. It is a universally acknowledged fact in physiotherapy that neuromuscular progress is dependent on the ability to stimulate muscles from different angles with use of different exercises and training principles."
The devices shown in the above described patents seem to contact the fingers in a line or point contact mode and do not provide an overall or continuous environment of resistance against which the fingers, hands and other co-ordinating muscles may work in an efficient manner.
The prior art also discloses a variety of exercise or sport-type gloves. These range from sport gloves for providing grip to exercise gloves having discreet weights placed in the fingertips in order to resist the movement of the fingers and thereby strengthen the finger muscles. U.S. Pat. No. 2,736,034 discloses such a fingertip-type weighted device. Each finger tip of the glove has a discreet weight to resist the motion of the fingers when the glove is being worn. This device is particularly suited for operations, such as typing and playing musical instruments. The U.S. Pat. No. 2,736,034 device is dependent on gravity for the direction of its resistance and only exercises the muscles which lift the fingers. The device is totally devoid of any assistance or exercise to the wrist, forearm, upper arm, or back of the hand. Other devices, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,138,100 or 4,197,592 or 3,707,730, are typically suited more for grip and hand formation than for exercise and muscle development in the wrists, forearms and upper arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,220 discloses a glove and hand exerciser having a plurality of discreet stiffening elements inserted into the glove and each finger canal to resist the movement of the fingers through a cantilever type stiffening action. However, this type of glove and hand exercise does not provide the type of multi-directional resistance necessary to strengthen the fingers, wrists, forearms and upper arms.
Finally, U.S. Patent No. 4,751,749 describes a training glove wherein padding embedded in the glove enhances the glove's resistance to a finger extension stroke. The '749 glove, however, does not provide enhanced resistance to a finger flexion stroke.